Legend of Zelda: Origins
by K.Maca93
Summary: The land of Ferelden is in the midst of a blight, her lands ravaged, her people divided. But Ferelden is not the only to suffer. The greatest warrior of Hyrule must journey with the greatest of Ferelden to put an end to this new threat. T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

All locations and characters from the Dragon Age universe belong to Bioware, and all of the characters and locations from Legend of Zelda belong to the big N.

I would love to receive any and all constructive criticism that I can get (REVIEW ME PLEASE!). It will help my writing and hopefully feed back into a better story for everyone.

Just to make sure everyone is clear, I am using the male human warrior origin story, and this Link is from Twilight Princess. Enjoy.

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><p>"'Tis most strange."<p>

"Oh really? What gave you that idea, your super-witchy senses?"

The witch in question opened her mouth in preparation of the sarcastic lashing that was about to head in the direction of her unfortunate antagonist. Before she could utter a word, she was interrupted by another of the group.

"Could you two both just play nice for once?" The speaker inwardly smiled at the expressions that had just inevitably past the faces of his two companions behind him. Their bickering was, while occasionally irritating, at least some way to pass the journey north. Otherwise, they walked in silence, ever alert in case any darkspawn should discover them. He removed his large backpack and knelt down to get a closer look at the battered remains on front of him. "Alistair, I do not sense any darkspawn nearby, but your ability in this area is superior to my own."

Alistair walked to his fellow Grey Warden's side before replying, "I cannot sense any darkspawn close to our position." He suddenly crouched down before continuing in a lowered tone, no doubt in a futile attempt to avoid their other companion from overhearing. "I do not like this Aedan, and I am not just talking about bringing _her_ along" A shudder seemed to run through the man's body as he motioned towards the apostate Morrigan, who was at that moment torn between angrily staring at them, no doubt aware of what Alistair was saying, and performing some sort of spell if her muttering was anything to go by. "Something killed these creatures. Several bodies are heavily charred, and there is little left. Only magic could cause such a thing. There might be apostates nearby, we should leave."

Suddenly there was a humourless laugh from behind them, causing both to start slightly before realising that it came from Morrigan. Both of them turned and looked at her inquiringly. "What is so funny?" Said Alistair.

"'Twas as good a guess as one could expect from a fool," her eyes narrowed, "A templar fool at that."

Alistair just pulled a face, stood up, and walked a short distance away to examine the bodies and rummage through the equipment of the fallen looking for anything useful.

Aedan rose to his feet and took a quick look between his feuding travelling companions. He doubted that there could be two more different people in all of Thedas. Focusing on the armour clad figure in the forest clearing, his mind travelled back to that cursed place where they had met. Ostagar . Where he and two others had taken part in the secret Joining ritual from which only one had survived and become a Grey Warden. Where Loghain had betrayed them all and left his king and countrymen to die. First Cailan, then Duncan, then all the others. Subconsciously his hand travelled to the vial of darkspawn blood hanging around his neck, and he took a moment to remember his brothers who had not made it this far, Ser Jory and Daveth all the other Grey Wardens who he would never meet. Rage flashed in his heart for what felt like an age before subsiding into an uneasy peace. Moment over, his thoughts turned to his other companion. Truth be told he agreed with Alistair. Morrigan was an unknown quantity, and under normal circumstances he would not have taken her. Not to mention that she was a very… unusual individual, although that was hardly surprising considering her life up to this point had been mostly spent in the middle of a forest with just her mother for human company. However, Flemeth had been very insistent on the importance of taking Morrigan along, and Aedan had not been so sure of her craziness as Alistair had. Besides, despite Alistair's protestations to the contrary he knew how useful it would be to have a mage on their side.

Sighing heavily, he walked over to the witch. "Would it be to much to ask for you to treat him nicely for the rest of our journey, it would make things much easier. For all of us."

Morrigan looked at him slyly before replying, "Why of course. As soon as he admits that he is a fool and that we would increase our chances of survival with him in a ditch somewhere than with us."

Aedan just looked at her sternly and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You don't mean that."

She just looked him right in the eye and said: "Oh I assure you that I do. Oh, and you might be interested to know, these darkspawn were not killed by magic."

He just raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her before asking, "Are you certain?"

"Of course I am certain Warden, 'twas no magic of which I know that caused this chaos."

He just grunted his thanks at this news, and turned around slowly to look at the scene before him. Alistair had finished his search and was now headed back towards them. Outwardly, Aedan gave no sign of emotion other than running his hand through his short brown hair, before dropping it down by his side. Inwardly though, his mind was racing. He knew of no weapon nor creature that could cause such damage, save for heavy siege weaponry, and he was fairly certain that wasn't the cause. His thoughts were sidetracked by Alistair jogging up to him.

"Oh look, the pet fool has come back" Smirked Morrigan.

"I am ignoring you from now on. If you want to annoy anyone then it will have to be him. Or perhaps you should get a pet toad."

Aedan could not help but notice the twitch at the corner of Alistair's mouth as he said that. It was all he could do not to smile at Morrigan's hate-fuelled rage as she began to utter various curses at the former templar himself. However, Alistair had already turned towards him. "You will want to take a look at this Aedan," he said, turning and gesturing to follow.

Once they were all in the clearing Aedan's fellow Grey Warden turned and looked around. "As you can see, despite the darkspawn chunks back there, there were still a few who escaped being roasted."

As their eyes scanned the scene they could all see the truth behind this. At least eight corpses lay in a messed heap, mostly Hurlock and one or two genlock. What caught Aedan's eye was the body of an emissary with a hole in its head, showing the unmistakable work of an arrow. He whistled in admirration for the accuracy as he studied the other bodies. Discovering that four others had been killed the same way, and the remaining three with a blade. "This does not seem like the work of bandits, there aren't any casualties of their own around. Even if it was a large bandit group you would expect _someone_ to have fallen. No, this was the work of a more skilled group." Alistair's head snapped up at this.

"Grey Wardens?" He asked, hope filling each word.

"Perhaps." Aedan conceded. Alistair seemed to accept that for now. As for himself, he was not so sure, but it was better to hope than give in to despair.

"You know," interjected Morrigan, contempt dripping into every syllable, "you really are missing the obvious. Perhaps they removed the bodies after they finished with the darkspawn?"

Aedan found that he could not reply to that, and Alistair looked downbeat at the logic facing him. Several seconds passed in silence before he opened his mouth and said…

"They did not."

The whole group spun around to the source of the voice, weapons drawn out of instinct.

The figure before them was at the edge of the clearing, and walking slowly towards them, arms out wide and hands open, clearly indicating that he was not an immediate threat. Despite this none of them relaxed over much, just enough to let the stranger know they were not going to attack him.

As he got closer it became easier to pick out details. He was garbed in a most outlandish manner, being primarily dressed in a tunic of dark green. Aedan could see that he wore a coat of chain mail underneath for protection and a cloth shirt underneath that, no doubt padded with leather for extra protection. Covering his legs there were only a pair of tan leggings, ending in leather boots. Each arm was adorned with leather armguards which covered his forearms and marked him down as a warrior, if his equipment of a shield and longsword, each strapped to his back, were not evidence enough. However, the strangest part of his clothing was undoubtedly the green floppy hat that swayed slightly in the light breeze in time with the surrounding trees. Physically, the stranger's pointy ears immediately marked him down as an elf, and he was young, although it was difficult to tell exactly with elves, Aedan would hazard a guess at the elf being in his late teens to early twenties. Aedan himself had seen few elves in his life, mainly just the few who had flitted about the castle. There had been that pretty elf girl the day before… No! He chastised himself for allowing himself to be distracted by that night when he needed to be in the here and now. Quickly bringing his mind back to focusing on the stranger, who had come even closer, there seemed to be discrepancies that could not be ignored. A quick glance at his companions showed that they too seemed to be trying to make sense of this stranger. Firstly, his face lacked any tattoos, which from what Aedan had read where what marked Dalish elves apart, being a symbol of their clan and their gods. However, his equipment was obviously of high quality and the stranger himself had the look of a trained warrior, both unusual qualities amongst the elves of an alienage. Perhaps if things went well he would discover where this unusual elf hailed from. Physically, the stranger was slightly shorter than either Alistair or himself, but was bulkier than any elf that he had ever seen.

By the time that he had analysed as many details as possible the elf had come within a few feet of the group before stopping. If he were aware of any tensions he was causing he seemed unaware. Aedan looked him in the eyes. They were blue, almost unnaturally so, but not cold. Indeed, they seemed to contain a warmth and joy for the world that had been tempered on the furnace of experience.

"So I guess we have your you and your men to thank for this?" He said, gesturing around and with a slight smile.

"I'm afraid not," the elf replied. He spoke the King's Tongue clearly enough, his accent was not one that Aedan had ever heard before. He almost let his disappointment show through before the elf continued. "Just me."

"That can't be true," Alistair exclaimed: "there couldn't have been less than twenty darkspawn here! Including an emissary! But… how?"

The elf turned to him, an eyebrow raised and a faint sign of amusement playing on his lips. "Darkspawn? So that's what they are called. Named or no; they were monsters."

Morrigan, who at this point had been content to stay silent, and indeed had been in favour of leaving sooner, picked up on his turn of phrase. "The way you talk 'Tis almost as if you had not heard of the darkspawn?

"I have not." At this both Alistair and Aedan could not hide their shock, although Morrigan remained her usual unreadable self. "I am a newcomer to these lands and do not know them. Perhaps, if it would be acceptable, I could travel with you, at least for a while?" His words seemed honest and hopeful, and his eyes betrayed no evil intent. However, the Warden did not wish to antagonise his new companions by blindly accepting, so he turned around to face his fellows before he asked, "What do you think Alistair?"

"Aedan, if he's telling the truth, then I think we should help him. Besides," he said, looking around, "he could be quite helpful, even if I am not convinced he is not a mage."

Morrigan saw the slightest glimpse of surprise cross the elf's features, before they settled quickly back into their usual state. Curiosity peaked, she inwardly made a note to discover everything that she could about this creature.

"Morrigan?"

The witch simply scowled back at him and said: "If we must, although I will not accept every lost stray which we come across."

He turned back to the elf, who was now clearly smiling.

"Very well. For your information we are heading north to a small village called Lothering. From there you may choose whichever direction you wish to travel in. I am sure there will be someone with maps."

The elf nodded graciously at this news. As the group gathered up their backpacks, Aedan saw that the elf did not have any supplies. Cursing inwardly, he pointed this out to the elf.

"Do not worry, I can supply myself."

Aedan raised an eyebrow at that, but decided not to query any further. The group, now four strong, journeyed for the rest of the day, before setting camp for the night. He had been spared the usual fighting, and every member seemed to be lost in thoughts. Alistair had been very quiet since the forest clearing. While he had been like that largely since Ostagar, it was clear that he had got his hopes up over Grey Warden survivors. Aedan knew how he felt. Duncan had been the one to save him, bring him from the end of his old life into what seemed like was going to be his new. The pain and unfairness of his death tore at Aedan's soul, and Alistair had known him for far longer. Glancing over to the far end of the camp he saw a small hut that Morrigan had built for herself. He wasn't surprised that she separated herself from the others while in camp, not being quite the social sort, but she had been unusually quiet during the journey as well. Every so often he thought that he caught her sneaking curious glances at their newest member. It was enough to make him suspicious and he had decided to keep a closer eye on her in the future. It was not until then that it occurred to Aedan that he did not actually know the elf's name. Chastening himself for his stupidity, he strolled over to the patch of grass where the elf was lying, gazing at the stars.

"I am sorry, my manners seem to be few and far between these days." He sat down beside the elf. "I am Aedan, that is Alistair and _way _over there is Morrigan."

The elf gave no inclination of hearing him. A few seconds passed by and Aedan wondered if he would have to be more direct with the elf, when he sat up suddenly with a large sigh and simply said: "My name is Link."


	2. Chapter 2

All locations and characters from the Dragon Age universe belong to Bioware, and all of the characters and locations from Legend of Zelda belong to the big N.

I would love to receive any and all constructive criticism that I can get.

Thank you all for the kind reviews so far. I'll put all my responses at the end of the chapters from here on in.

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><p>He had been lying there for hours after Aedan left, just staring up at the unfamiliar sky and looking for any sign of back home. Despite having travelled far and wide, Hyrule had never seemed far away as long as he could look up and see what he knew his friends could see. Here, everything was different. It felt strange. Finally, he had given up for the night, and settled in for the night. Yet somehow he still could not get any sleep. Sitting up with a sigh, Link took a look around at his temporary companions, highlighted by the faint glow of the fire. They were a strange little group, and he was sure that they would not have looked out of in the Resistance. Link felt a smile spread across his face as he thought about the fierce warrior Ashei; quirky scholar Shad; incomparable bar-owner Telma; mysterious Auru; and of course Rusl.<p>

Although he highly enjoyed being in the group, and they had been instrumental in successfully defeating the Twili King Zant and Ganondorf, Link had always found himself more comfortable when he travelled and fought on his own, or with his trusted horse Epona. However, he had realised after his first contact with darkspawn that he did not know the land he now found himself traversing and that he needed help, at least for a while. It was fortunate indeed that he had come across this group.  
>The younger of the two swordsmen, Aedan Cousland was, he had quickly realised, the unofficial leader. Link had only been with them for a few hours, but already he had noticed that Aedan seemed to exude a sort of natural charisma about him that few possessed, Link included, and was probably the only reason that his two companions hadn't ripped each other apart by now. Or at least, Link smirking a little inside as he thought it, Morrigan ripping Alistair apart. He could freely admit to himself that, despite his achievements and position as Knight-Commander for the newly reformed Royal Knights, he lacked a certain something that translated into great leadership ability. Perhaps that was why he had volunteered…<p>

He shook his head quickly, brought his thoughts back to the present and looked at his sword and shield that were piled neatly beside him and strapped them to his back. A quick appraisal told him that nothing had been disturbed. Not that he had expected them to be, his companions seemed to be good people, despite their strangeness and need to bicker like little children, but he knew that he couldn't be too careful. Link had noticed that the witch Morrigan in particular had taken an interest in him, but he was not sure why. Interest in his strange appearance, or something else… He became lost in his thoughts for a moment, before smiling as he lifted his Hylian Shield and the Master Sword and placed them on his lap. The sword seemed to fuse into his hand as it took it's familiar grip around its hilt, and appeared to give out an ethereal glow in the strange mix of bright moonlight and fading glow of the dying flames as he pulled it inches out of its scabbard. Snapping out of his daze he rose, strapped his equipment to his back, and looked about for Alistair patrolling. Quickly spotting him, Link walked over and quietly greeted him, so as not to startle the warrior.

"Oh, it's you."

Link was slightly surprised at the tone of voice. He wasn't sure what he had done to irritate this man. Anger rose in him, and he had to take a moment before replying: "I just thought I'd take the rest of the watch, sleep does not seem to want to come to me."

"I don't think anyone is getting much sleep lately." Alistair replied. At that he gave out a large yawn. "Still, it has been difficult… well, it's been a long day." The man turned to face Link. "Tell you what, why don't you answer a few questions, and I will let you stand guard from the nasty monsters of the night." Alistair gave out a slight chuckle.

It occurred to Link that he wasn't really getting much of a deal out of this, but it was a great chance to get vital information. "Only if you answer a few as well." he replied.  
>Alistair seemed to think this over a few seconds before answering. "Deal. Right, I'll go first." He screwed up his face in such a display of mock concentration that Link couldn't help but warm a little to the man. "You said you are not from Ferelden," he paused for confirmation and Link nodded slightly in response, "So where is home then?"<p>

Link considered lying, but he could not see the point of it. He had never been a good liar, apparently a small smile always gave him away. At least that was what Ilya had always said. Besides, it wasn't as if knowing the name would be much use here. "Hyrule."

Alistair frowned deeply at that, and looked as if he were searching his memories for knowledge that he may have stored away, forgotten. "I've never heard of it. Where is that?" he asked.

"Nope, my turn," Link answered, a playful smile on his lips and wagging his finger at the other man.

"Why, I suppose it is!" laughed Alistair.

Now it was Link's turn to think. He knew he should probably ask something about the land itself, but suddenly a question popped into his head and was out before he could think of another. "What is a Grey Warden?"

Alistair looked shocked for a second, but quickly rearranged his features to hide it. Not quickly enough for Link not to notice. "Well, where to begin really." He looked into the trees thoughtfully before answering: "I suppose the simplest explanation is that we are a group of warriors and mages dedicated to fighting the darkspawn and stopping blights." Suddenly his expression turned dark and Link could have sworn he saw a light tear as he turned his head away, "or at least we were."

The conversation had taken an unexpected turn for the worse. Link wanted to know more, but knew Alistair was not the person to ask, at least, not in his current state. He made a mental note to talk more closely to Aedan sometime soon. Fortunately, Alistair seemed to have recovered in time to ask another question.

"Are you an apostate?"

The directness of the question took Link by surprise, he had been expecting another question about Hyrule, and deep down he had a sneaking suspicion Alistair knew it. Perhaps he would have to re-evaluate his thoughts about the man…

"I don't understand why you would ask me that, but no. I have not forsaken my religion."

Alistair waved impatiently before saying: "That's not what I meant. Are you a mage?"

Link blinked in surprise. He had noticed that Alistair seemed to have a very low opinion of magic, and this version of the question seemed no more relevant than the last, but again he decided to answer as honestly as he could. "I'm not sure if you could call me a mage exactly, I do have a small innate talent for magic if that is what you want to know."

At that Alistair's jaw seemed to tighten ever so slightly. Just as quickly as it had appeared it was gone, replaced by his usual grin. "Well, at least you're not Morrigan! She's just mean." Alistair laughed, and Link could not help but join in.

"Oh, is that so?" The difference between the voice behind them and Alistair's own just previously was startling, causing both to quickly spin around. They found themselves face-to-face with the witch. "Why Alistair, why is it that you pain me so?" She asked, sarcasm pouring from of every word she spoke.

"I'll write you an apology once all this is over." Alistair turned back to Link, "I think I'll go, it seems to have become a little cold around here." With that he walked back to the camp, and disappeared into his tent.

Alistair was not out of sight for a moment before Link felt a sharp grip on his arm forcing him to switch his attention back to Morrigan.

"You do not make sense."

"That is a strange thing to say." Link felt his brow rise in surprise as he said this.

"Tis not so," Morrigan insisted. "There are things about you that I do not understand." The witch prowled around him like a predator stalking its prey as she spoke, with Link being forced to turn to keep her in view. "I was listening to you talk to that fool. You claim to have magic, yet none of my spells seem to indicate any connection to the fade."

Link was tempted to ask exactly what this "fade" was, but he managed to control his tongue as Morrigan continued.

"How did you kill the darkspawn back where we met? You claim to have been alone, yet it could not be so. The flames, they were not magic, yet I know of no such power. Even a fire crystal gives off a small amount of magic, but I found nothing. 'Tis infuriating." She stopped her pacing and turned to look Link straight in the eye, "And of the rest, many were slain with arrows, yet you have no bow. I do not trust you."

Her words drifted into silence as Link's mind raced. He had hoped not to arouse suspicion, especially not this soon, but this witch seemed to be sharper than the others. For one moment he contemplated just telling her the entire truth. This was soon pushed into the back of his mind. He in turn could not trust these people with his secrets, even if he wanted to, least of all this Morrigan.

"Well, you will not have to be infuriated much longer, I shall be leaving in a few days." With this said, he turned and walked to the fire, leaving the witch to glare at his back. He hoped he had made the right choice.

Aedan's mind raced as he lay perfectly still, eyes sealed shut.

"Wait, do you hear that?" said Link. Alistair could have sworn he saw the elf's ear twitch. They had been late to leave camp that morning. Everyone had been preoccupied with their own thoughts. At his words the entire party halted, and listened carefully. He could not hear anything for a moment, but soon the sound of barking and rumbling of many feet could be heard in the distance.

"That's a mabari or I'm a frolicking elf," said Alistair. "No offence Link."

Only Morrigan noticed that the look which crossed Link's face was anything more than annoyance at Alistair's comment.  
>He was proven right only seconds later when a hound, bigger than almost any Link had seen before came sprinting around the corner, barking wildly.<br>"Aedan, is that… your mabari?" Alistair frowned as he spoke, as if unable to believe his eyes.  
>The expression of joy that crossed Aedan's face as the hound reached them was cut short as a troop of darkspawn appeared, screeching and snarling loudly, before stopping to appraise the small group that were ahead.<p>

Link immediately noticed one larger than the rest, in golden coloured armour and sporting a large horned helmet. He thought that this must have been the leader. His thought was immediately confirmed when the darkspawn drew its hand across it's neck slowly, before drawing its vicious looking longsword and charging at them.  
>Immediately Link felt an intense heat fly past his head and slam straight into a group of darkspawn, killing three and severely burning at least as many more. He glanced at the witch to his left, and saw a look of amusement cross her face. Turning his attention back to the darkspwan, Link made a mental note not to push Morrigan too far in the future. Then the two groups of warriors clashed. Link felt his right arm strain as a darkspawn blade met his shield in a furious attempt to behead him quickly. Gritting his teeth, he sidestepped the next blow and slammed his shield into the offending foe, knocking it over before swiftly stabbing the Master Sword down, piercing the heart and killing the creature instantly.<p>

He felt an old excitement rush through his blood as another stepped up to take it's brethrens place. It was not that he enjoyed killing. Far from it. It was just that, and Link felt ashamed to admit it, he had been bored the past couple of years. Adventure had taken him at such a young age that he could not help but miss that life.  
>Link swung his sword down, cleaved another darkspawn's unarmoured head in two and causing black blood to pool at his feet as it fell.<br>Suddenly, he was knocked onto his side. He scrambled desperately to his feet before spinning around in the direction of the shove. The hound, this "mabari" as Alistair had said, grinned up at him, dark blood dripping from its maw as it stood over a slain darkspawn, with a gaping hole where the throat should have been. Link nodded quickly in thanks, and for a brief moment he could have sworn that the mabari nodded back.

Swiftly turning back to the action, he raised his shield in response to a wild attack, grunting as he did so, before swinging again in a vicious arc which caught the creature from the side and ripped through it. Link took a moment to check up on his companions. They were all still standing and reasonably unharmed, although Aedan had a nasty gash that had opened up on his right cheek. Both he and Alistair seemed to be being targeted by several darkspawn and were slowly but surely being pushed back. Link quickly glanced at Morrigan, who was obviously becoming frustrated by the lack of many safe targets she had, but was otherwise okay, before charging into the back of the grouped creatures. He managed to take down two with quick stabs to the spine before they noticed their peril.

It was then that Link heard a shout of warning. He spun around, shield already being raised, just quickly enough to deflect a brutal attack, and found himself being towered over by the large leader of the darkspawn. Link grimaced. That swing would have taken his head off. Chiding himself for letting his guard down, he focused on his foe. Already he was on the defensive, slightly shocked by the power of the blows that were raining down on him. However, within seconds he had the measure of his attacker. Link feinted with a slash to the head, causing the creature to raise it's shield and more crucially, lose sight of it's opponent, before bringing his sword down in a devastating diagonal slash that tore through armour, sinew and bone, biting deep into the darkspawns leg. The creature fell to one knee, and before it could respond, Link let out a loud cry and took its head off with a single powerful swing. Link quickly glanced at the cut in his forearm and wiped the darkspawn blood away before looking at it. He was lucky to get away with as small a wound as he had after such a big mistake.

Turning quickly to his companions, he saw Aedan knock the last off of its feet and quickly put his blade through its throat, where it gurgled horribly for a few seconds before lying still again.

Link took a few seconds to get his breath back, before sheathing his sword and walking over to the rest of his companions.

Aedan was in the middle of greeting what was obviously an old friend. Alistair and Morrigan were both looking at him with differing, but similarly strange expressions, but both quickly changed as soon as he caught them looking.

"I thought I'd lost you at Ostagar Odin!" The mabari let out a happy bark and Aedan gave the hound an enthusiastic stroke before turning back to the others.

"Does this mean we are going to have this mangy beast following us about now? Wonderful." Odin gave Morrigan an evil look as she spoke, and Link couldn't help but feel that the animal was highly intelligent. Of course, most people he had spoken to had seemed to think that all animals were mindless, but he knew better…

"He's not mangy," Alistair responded, a smirk covering his face.

The mabari definitely liked Alistair much more than Morrigan, judging by the way it happily barked and ran around. Not that Link could blame it really. Morrigan was grating to even the most patient of personalities. She reminded him of an old friend really. Link found himself unable to keep a faint smile from his lips.  
>His mind was torn back to the present by the Odin's barking as the rest of the group gathered up their supplies and carried on their journey.<p>

It had taken the group several more days of travel before they had reached the outskirts of Lothering, however, the rest of the journey had been relatively easy-going after joining the imperial highway. Aedan frowned as he tried to remember what little he could about the village from his days being taught history, amongst other things, by the old historian Aldous.

Lothering was a small village in the south of Ferelden. Once it had been but a small trading outpost, providing a vital link between the southern fortress of Ostagar and the rest of Ferelden. However, it had grown in recent years, and a village had sprung up around the outpost, now supplying both Ostagar and the Redcliff lands to the west along Lake Calenhad with goods. Mind returning to his old tutor, he clenched his fists tightly as he remembered the still corpse of the man, battered and left lying on the floor of his beloved library. Regret poured into Aedan's mind as he realised he had never taken the time to get to know him, despite the influence he and his teachings had on his life.

Aedan sighed and relaxed. There would be time for regret, but now as not it. Not until he had taken revenge on both of the traitors to have scarred his life.  
>The journey up to this point had revealed precious little more about his companions. None of them had been particularly talkative, save perhaps Morrigan, who never missed a chance to scorn Alistair for every little thing, but especially his cooking. Even Aedan could not manage to keep the grimace off of his face at the memory of what passed for food. Nobody could possibly stand up for Alistair after that.<p>

Perhaps predictably, there had been little sign of life beyond the few wild animals that were either stupid or desperate enough to stay where darkspawn were known to roam. That had been until they had begun to come across small bands of refugees from the various villages and hamlets that were dotted around the land. All seemed to be heading in the same direction, Lothering.

Relief had flooded through his body at the sight of the village in the distance, with the Chantry tower having been the first sign that the group had seen of it. Aedan was happy that he had been vindicated in his decision to bring Morrigan. Despite all of this Aedan could not help but still feel distrust in their newest companion. Despite appearing not to, he had noticed the same things as the others had back at the fight. He had never seen anybody fight like that. He and Alistair were good fighters in their own right, if they had not been then they would never have become Wardens. Even so, a hurlock alpha was an opponent not to be taken lightly, especially after already facing and defeating numerous darkspawn, and the elf had taken it down in two swings. Perhaps most interestingly of all, Link did not even seem to notice that he had incredible skill, and after the battle had remained just as calm and quiet as he had before.

Ever since the elf had joined them he had kept a close eye on both Link and Morrigan, and had noticed her uncharacteristic interest in him, even if Link had not. As far as he could tell in his short period of knowing the witch, nobody interested her unless there was something that she wanted.

There were also several little things that ate away at on the edges of his mind, tiny facts that did not seem to match up, especially since he had overheard Link talking with Alistair and Morrigan. However, he had not mentioned these doubts to anyone. Link was, after all, going to be heading his own way once they all rested at Lothering, and by then he would not be their problem.

* * *

><p>Yes, I forgot that the dog always stays with the human noble in chapter one. I've never been more ashamed... In saying that, I do feel that it worked out quite well, and allowed me to get in a bit of action for this chapter.<p>

Also, I'd like to hear everyone's impressions of my characters, especially Link. I realise in this chapter that he may seem a little overpowered to some, but I hope that I have (and will) justify that with good in story reasoning. And don't worry, the other characters will quickly begin to catch up with him!

Angle-Demon Hybrid & Dante Alighieri1308: Thank you both very much.  
>Zerixa: Thank you. Constructive criticism always very welcome.<br>Deadzepplin: That's the plan!


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